Bad defense, good to great offense. Usually a good recipe for Michigan success but we all know what this Michigan team has done (or not done) on offense this year and defense for that matter. Must win the boards and have to make some decent percentage of threes. What do you guys think the keys are?
After watching us against Tulsa;
ND needs to play one of their worst games of the year and we need to play one of our best.
I think if we can get at least 8 three pointers to fall it will be close. 10 and up we win. Poor shooting won’t cut it vs a good Notre Dame
My gosh, for once shoot the ball better! I just see Colson and Auguste having their way with us on the glass. High motor max effort guys that will be difficult for us to contain.
How much energy can this team really muster in this game is a very legitimate concern. Fifth game in nine days in three different cities.
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3 Point Shooting.
Against tourney teams, Notre Dame shot 33% while we shot 33.8% from 3.
We have to separate ourselves in that area.
We both handle the ball well. They’re 6th in the nation in turnovers. Michigan is 7th.
They’re a good offensive rebounding team.
And get to the FT line just a little more than us.
Overall it seems like a pretty even matchup. Whoever messes up is going to lose.
My biggest concern is Auguste and Colson getting a lot of garbage points. Jackson is tough to keep out of the lane, but other than him, the other perimeter guys are just shooters. If we can limit the 2nd chance points from their bigs, we have a chance.
The 3pt shooting is frustrating and confusing. I know people will point to an uptick in competition as the reason for our shooting drop off, but we are missing open shots. It’s hard to fathom such a steep drop off in 3pt %. Imagine if we had shot even just 35% from 3 against Tulsa (which would’ve been considered below-average for what this team expected, early in the season), that would’ve been an additional 2-3 3-pointers and the score wouldnt have been that close. Also, regrettably, our team’s effort and effectiveness in all other facets of the game rely heavily on whether or not our shot is falling. The offense flows better and the defense works harder; not to mention the other team get’s to run less transition offense against our terrible transition defense.
IF we can get back to solid (38-40%), not even great (41-44%, which we shouldve expected out of ourselves), then this team is capable of playing with the better teams. But it’s getting to be a bigger and bigger IF, and I’m sure the team and JB are incredibly frustrated. There doesn’t seem to be an apparent fix for missing open shots.
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Biggest key tomorrow might just come down to the centers other than Wagner. Don’t need big numbers from those guys but do need better energy than what they showed on Wednesday. Gotta come close to a stalemate against nd on the front line and rely on the guards/wings to win their battles.
The first line says it all, “Defense will be optional in this game”
Zach Auguste will be a tough cover for you guys but I think michigan wins this one
It might not be the worst thing that they slept till noon the night they got in. If they let em sleep again today, which I assume, then they may be somewhat in sync for a 9:40 game. That’s a pretty crazy time for the rest of us, though.
Coach B needs to change the starting lineup so we can have some firepower coming off the bench. I would suggest MAAR and Robinson go to the bench. Depending on the team we are playing would determine who starts at the 5.
I agree with the 5 but having MAAR on the bench is idiotic. He is the only player that we have that attacks the basket.
You could play MAAR the same # of minutes he plays now but just backup both guard positions. Have a 3 man rotation of Walton, Irvin, and MAAR.
MAAR would be the spark plug coming off the bench which currently we don’t have. With him and Robinson coming off the bench we would actually have some scoring coming off the bench. Have Walton and Irvin lead the starters.
I would love to see Chatman in for Robinson (and move Irvin to the “3” spot).
Let Robinson come in off the bench. He’s shooting 31.8% from 3 over the last 14 games and plays awful defense. His legs would be fresh vs. the opponents starters not being fresh.
Plus I think Irvin’s offensive efficiency would improve and our defense would improve by having Chatman out there. I think there’s enough “offense” with the others that Chatman can focus on defense/rebounding/slashing/junk buckets, etc.
I think Chatman is going to log some significan minutes in this one for sure.
Predictions?
78-70 Notre Dame in a high scoring fast paced no defense game.